Neurological involvement is a well-documented issue in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, little is known about the involvement of the autonomic nervous system. This study was conducted to investigate autonomic nervous system dysfunction in patients with RA and SLE. Twenty-six RA patients, 38 SLE patients and 40 healthy controls were recruited from our in- and out-patient departments. Heart rate variability (HRV) parameters (the power of the high- [HF] and low-frequency [LF] band of haemodynamic time series, the ratio between low- and high-frequency components [LF/HF ratio], the power spectral density), baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and beat-to-beat blood pressures were assessed by a novel non-invasive haemodynamic monitoring tool (Task Force Monitor [TFM], CNSystems Medizintechnik GmbH, Graz, Austria). Autonomic nervous system dysfunction was determined according to classical Ewing autonomic test battery. Furthermore, we implemented a secondary autonomic test score by modifying the Ewing test battery with additional criteria. Both the classical and modified Ewing test batteries have revealed that the frequencies of autonomic neuropathy were significantly higher in patient groups compared with controls (p < 0.001). Evaluation by TFM revealed that deterioration of sophisticated autonomic parameters (such as HRV and BRS) were more pronounced in the patient groups compared with controls. There was a significant association between BRS and Ewing test scores and abnormal BRS results were more frequent in patients with autonomic dysfunction according to Ewing test batteries. No relation was found between autonomic neuropathy and disease duration, disease activity and autoantibody positivity. Consequently, we believe that further large-scale studies investigating cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy in rheumatic diseases should be carried out to verify our findings and manifest clinical consequences beyond these results.

These results suggest that sympathovagal balance has been disturbed in favour of sympathetic tone and that parasympathetic insufficiency has become more prominent. The current findings support the presence of cardiac autonomic involvement in patients with MG. The determination of cardiac autonomic function via noninvasive methods among patients with MG has high predictive value. The identification of autonomic dysfunction at an early stage and the early treatment of cardiovascular diseases can reduce morbidity and mortality.

These findings indicate that elevated urinary levels of 8-isoprostane are associated with both subclinical atherosclerosis and manifest CAD. The results therefore support the hypothesis that isoprostanes-related oxidative stress is involved in the whole atherosclerotic process.

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Cardiac autonomic dysfunction (CAD) is a common problem in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and may contribute to the risk of cardiac mortality. Long-term effects of dialysis modalities on CAD in ESRD patients are not clear. In this one-year prospective study, we studied the effects of different dialysis modalities on CAD in ESRD patients. The study consisted of 20 ESRD patients who had the indications for initiating dialysis therapy (13 hemodialysis and 7 CAPD patients) and 15 healthy controls (M/F: 5/10; age 30 +/- 4). In all the subjects, first at the beginning of study (in patient groups just before initiating dialysis therapy) and then after 12 months, we studied 24 hours ECG-Holter monitoring and heart rate variability parameters (time and frequency domain analysis parameters; SDNN: standard deviations of nn intervals, rMSSD: square root of the median of standard deviation, HRVI: heart rate variability index, LF/HF: low frequency/high frequency). In ESRD patients, before dialysis therapy, all the parameters of time domain analysis were significantly lower compared to control group (p = 0.001). In patient groups, after dialysis therapy (on the 12th month), significant improvement was observed in time domain analysis parameters (p = 0.001). When dialysis modalities were compared, the increase in the time domain analysis parameters was significantly greater in the CAPD group compared to hemodialysis (HD) group. Our findings suggest that CAD is frequent in ESRD patients, a dialysis therapy of 12 months can cause significant improvement on CAD and the ameliorative effect of CAPD is better than HD.